That’s the Norwegian sprint coach Ulf Morten Aune’s opinion about the sprint World Cup course in Kuusamo, Finland
Aune feels that this downhill is too big a part of the sprintcourse
– It should have been more varied, says the coach.
But he ensures that he and the skiers are doing their utmost to be as well prepared as possible. They can’t do anything about the course.
– We are not favorites
Norway cleaned up in the individual race in Dusseldorf, but that shouldn’t (according to the coach) make the Norwegian skiers the favorites.
– We need to be aware that there are other good sprinters than ours.
He is therefore suggesting that Bjorn Lind, Sweden and Vassili Rotchev, Russia are the biggest favorites.
– I think the long uphill in toward the stadium suits those two very well.
– What about your own boys?
Aune summarizes:
Jens Arne Svartedal og Eldar Rœnning:
– Our two best skiers in classic. Count on them.
Øystein Pettersen:
– Øystein did well in Dusseldorf and at Beitostolen and I believe that he will do well. He got a small neck problem, but I don’t think it will hinder him when he gets warmed up.
Johan Kjœlstad:
– Johan has traditionally been best in skating, but has one individual victory in classic this season. It will be exciting to watch him.
Trond Iversen og Bœrre Næss:
– They have performed, but not at the top. They were involved in crashes at Beitostolen, but dominated in the B-finale. They skied well in the Dusseldorf prolog, but Borre did some tactical errors and didn’t advance.
Tor Arne Hetland shouldn’t be forgotten either.
Want one on the podium
Our goal is always to have two in the final and one on the podium.
– We always want that, and we are working toward that goal every day.
Aune predicts extreme speed out of the stadium.
– We had extreme speed there today and the skiers need to ski smart and clever at a speed that we might not have seen in cross country skiing before.
Source: Langrenn.com
